Amid Yelahanka demolition row, BJP slams Congress over Delhi ‘remote control’ politics

A demolition drive on the outskirts of Bengaluru has sparked a sharp political confrontation, exposing rifts within the Congress and inviting fierce attacks from the BJP, which has accused the party’s central leadership of interfering in Karnataka’s administration.

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The BJP on Sunday (December 28) questioned whether Congress general secretary KC Venugopal was acting as a “super chief minister”, alleging that the state was being run through “Delhi diktats”.

High command steps in

The controversy erupted after Venugopal intervened in the eviction of residents from Kogilu village near Yelahanka, an exercise that left several families displaced and sparked protests by locals and political groups.

Venugopal spoke to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, conveying the AICC’s concern over the manner of the demolition and urging greater caution, sensitivity and compassion. He said both leaders assured him they would personally engage with affected families, establish a grievance redress mechanism, and ensure rehabilitation and relief.

Venugopal's statement came in the wake of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan criticising the demolition drive as the “brutal normalisation of the bulldozer raj”.

BJP alleges federal overreach

The intervention, however, prompted a sharp response from the BJP, which said it underscored the Congress’s “high-command culture”.

Karnataka deserves respect, autonomy, and honest governance, and not high-command “theatrics”, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Assembly R Ashoka said. “Karnataka is not a colony of Rahul Gandhi and his coterie.” He was responding to Venugopal's post on X regarding the demolition of unauthorised constructions in Kogilu village.

LoP Ashoka asked, “Who is KC Venugopal to intervene in the administration of Karnataka. Is he a super CM, or does the Congress high command believe elected state governments function on Delhi diktats?” Karnataka is governed by a constitutionally elected chief minister and Cabinet, not by an AICC general secretary, he said. Expressing a party opinion is one thing, but issuing moral sermons and applying pressure on a state government amounts to “blatant overreach” and an insult to federalism, the BJP leader added.

“What's more troubling is the rank hypocrisy. Has Venugopal ever shown the same urgency when medical and other waste from Kerala have been illegally dumped along Karnataka's borders, threatening Bandipur, forest regions, public health, and wildlife? Has he spoken up for Karnataka's environment, farmers, or border districts with the same concern and compassion,” he asked.

Allegations of selective outrage

Stating that this selective outrage exposes the truth, Ashoka said this is not about humanity or sensitivity, it's about Congress high command politics, Kerala appeasement, and election optics, especially when top party leader Priyanka Gandhi represents that state in the Lok Sabha.

Also read | Yelahanka eviction unavoidable, displaced families to be rehabilitated: Siddaramaiah

“Karnataka's dignity, self-respect, and administrative authority cannot be compromised to please party managers sitting in Delhi. The people of this state did not vote for a remote control government,” he said.

Humanitarian concerns must be addressed through law, due process, rehabilitation, and accountable state mechanisms and not through telephonic or social media instructions from party officials with no constitutional role, he added.

Following Vijayan's criticism, Shivakumar had shot back at the Communist veteran, asking him to take care of Kerala's affairs while Bengaluru will be managed by the incumbent government.

(With agency inputs)